Welcome to the official CQUniversity Student Blog – CQUniLife. This blog follows the experiences of a diverse group of CQUniversity students from different countries, studying various programs and at various campuses throughout Australia.

Librarians, Pirates and your first week of term

Hi there – I’m Sarah, and it’s been nearly a decade since I started my undergraduate degree.

*Hi Sarah!*

Education Anonymous aside, in that decade there are a few things that have changed, and a few things that have stayed the same. As a (relatively) old hand at university, I’ve got a few #How2Uni tricks up my sleeve and you are more than welcome to all of them!

Here’s my advice: – reading isn’t just for librarians and maps aren’t just for pirates.

Recently I sat with a family member as they went through the CQUni enrolment process. Being on the other side of the computer screen, I know how much work has gone into making the enrolment journey as easy as possible – so can you imagine my frustration when this family member just started clicking on everything that looked like it would take them to the next step, without reading and/or understanding what they were actually doing?

I know we live in a fast-paced world (and I feel incredibly old even saying this!), but now that you’re a Uni student you are going to have to slow down, stop clicking, and READ the instructions.

Whether you’re trying to enrol in units, or whether you’re a distance student navigating your way through Orientation Online, just take an extra few seconds to read the text before you click next, delete, submit, or cancel.

Accidentally cancelling your Commonwealth Assistance (which I may have witnessed the other night with my family member), deleting an important email (like the Student Broadcast) or even posting a comment in the wrong place on UCROO isn’t the end of the world – but it will make your Uni journey that much more difficult.

The difference between looking like a first-year student and looking like you own the place will be your ability to be prepared, look at a map and find where you’re supposed to be going – check out our tips on how to actually find specific rooms on the UCROO #How2Uni page(you’ll need to be signed in to click through – otherwise just search #How2Uni next time you hop on UCROO).

So let’s recap: read through things, stop clicking, and work out your campus map ASAP.

Don’t stress if you get lost or confused – there are plenty of helpful resources around to make your student journey easier (I wish it had been this easy when I was a student!).

Just call the Student Advice Team (13 27 86), or jump onto UCROO and ask either the University Feed or your Student Mentor Group.